The growing popularity of new computing devices, most notably tablet computers, has created demand for access by a tablet user to his/her corporate computing environment using these devices from anywhere, including access to applications, content, and user profiles. There are several challenges associated with this requirement:
a. Tablet computers today are predominantly running non-Windows operating systems, whereas most corporate applications are still Windows-based, especially client applications that execute on personal computers (“PCs”).
b. Tablet computers are designed to be mostly “reading” devices with limited “write” capabilities. This means that many corporate employees need to be able to work with multiple devices, including traditional Windows-based PCs to generate content, as well as with the new tablet devices, smart phones, and the like.
c. These tablet devices present a security hazard since they are typically not controlled by a corporate IT department, do not run company anti-virus software, data-leak protection software and other software that provides some security measures.
One potential solution to enable a tablet computer access to a corporate environment is to use one of many existing programs that allow a user to connect the tablet directly to the user's personal PC via a “remote desktop protocol” program, which is then connected to the corporate environment, including access to applications and corporate data. While this “chained” model may work for fixed desktops that are always turned on and connected online to the corporate network, it does not work when the corporate PC is a laptop—which comprises the majority of corporate PCs. Unlike desktop computers, laptop computers are not turned-on when not in use (they are typically in “sleep” or “hibernate” mode). Furthermore, laptops and desktops are often located away from the office (e.g., at home) and the organizational intranet, in both cases inaccessible from a remote connection.
An alternative approach is to replace the personal PC with a personal virtual machine that is hosted in the corporate data-center and contains the same set of applications and data as the physical PC. This typically requires a system such as a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) system that also knows to manage a pool of VMs and redirect users to their personal VMs. Using such a centralized virtual desktop, tablet users gain universal access to their PC. However, there are two main drawbacks to this approach.
First, by centralizing the personal PC in the data center, the user now has to compromise her working environment even when she can and wants to work directly with a local (physical) PC. In other words, even when the user is present in the office and could be working directly with the local PC, the user is required to use the virtual desktop as if the user is remote. Working remotely typically means a poor user-experience since every interaction with the central desktop involves network round-trip messages and therefore becomes sensitive to latency and bandwidth constraints. Furthermore, the user cannot work offline (disconnected to the data center), an important consideration for laptop and mobile device users.
Second, the cost associated with supporting a centralized infrastructure that hosts all corporate PCs in the data center is extremely high, both in terms of compute and storage costs. For a population of existing laptop users, where the hardware resources already exist at the endpoints (the laptops), duplication in the data center results in a significant waste of resources.